You forgot to mention that in the first paragraph of that same document Sarkis said:
"To assure these benefits become permanent,
Sarkesi -- tacitly supported by the Patriarch --
strongly advocates the establishment of an autonomous Assyrian homeland carved out of the Ninewa Plain under the protection of the KRG. Sarkesi, like other KRG leaders who
advocate incorporation of all historically Kurdish areas into the KRG, is unconcerned about social or political disruption upon establishment of such an area."
Regarding Chaldean's (mis)statement: the argument was always that the policies pursued by Sarkis Aghajan would by default make the NP part of the KRG, despite his semi-public discussions about it. (although as we can see in this document, he did in fact advocate its incorporation to the KRG, but this isn't surprising to people intimately involved with the offline life of this issue). Another thing to remember is, he rarely spoke publicly, and it had others around him discuss the NP incorporation into the KRG instead. Because the Article 125 policy allowed for choice, it would be politically unwise for him to present an alternative policy that didn't.
The hurdles behind the "autonomy plan" (and the reasons it was, in fact, created to distract from the administrative unit plan) was laid out here. Also, it was Sarkis Aghajan's political party blocking a non-pershmerga, local police force to be created in the Nineveh Plains, and Sarkis Aghajan's political party which then moved them out of the NP and into the very dangerous city of Mosul once they were up and running (When the KDP and Khisro Goran were in charge of the Mosul Provincial Council); it was Sarkis Aghajan's political party who annexed the NP into their draft constitution by law, foregoing any pretense of a "vote" (Article 2 I believe); and it was Sarkis Aghajan's political party which removed all minority quotas from the KRG Parliament last month as part of a new elections law.
Here are some other things Aghajan said in these cables:
When people were claiming Zowaa lied about "Kurds stealing our land":
"(C) Sarkis accused Kurds, especially those associated with the KDP which controls the Assyrian centers in Dohuk, of
continuing to take over Assyrian land. During the three years since 2003, he said, Assyrians are returning to their ancestral villages and want their village lands. Sarkis said Kurds receive priority in law and challenges in court are not resolved in favor of non-Kurds. Sarkis pointed out that in order to regain and retain Assyrian land, the village populations must be strong and stable. "
When Zowaa claimed land appropriation by Kurds they were accused of lying, and when Zowaa wanted to bring Assyrians back into their ancestral lands in the NP to make "the populations strong and stable", and resisted the idea that Assyrians should leave the country, they're accused of political pandering and "wanting Assyrians to stay for their votes". That such automatic trust was given to a Kurdish political appointee over people who had votes cast for them is telling.
About Nechirvan Barzani (not to mention his general mental health):
"Sarkis has remarked in meetings with RRT Offs (Regional Reconstruction Team Officers) that he receives his direction from the Holy Spirit, and has said that Nechirvan Barzani has been sent by Jesus Christ to save Iraq,s Christians."
From the Mayor of Hamdaniya:
"(C) We asked (Mayor) Karumi where he stood on the issue of remaining in Ninewa Province or joining the KRG. He responded that if every other group in Iraq is demanding autonomy, he might as well do the same.
As a lawyer, he said, he knows that this is not possible, but hopes that by demanding it for himself he could show other groups what a bad idea it really is." Funny, when Zowaa said this and we said this here, they were called "jealous" and were accused of trying to spoil a "better policy" because it "wasn't theirs".
A little about the mayor, who isn't necessarily anti-annexation or autonomy by any ideology:
"Mayor Nissan Karumi professes no allegiance to any political party, and contempt for all of them. He argued that all Hamdaniya,s communities are capable of coexistence, and
voiced no objection to Kurdish-dominated sub-districts of Hamdaniya joining the Kurdish region."
Wow, my first time looking at AVN in, what, 2 years? 18 months? And it's barely changed.
